


A Special Gift

by alafaye



Category: Merlin (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 23:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2750546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alafaye/pseuds/alafaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is late, Morgana is angry, and Merlin is calm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Special Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mm8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mm8/gifts).



> Written for mm8 who asked for Merlin/Arthur, meeting on the subway/tube the day before Christmas during peak hours. Now, I know that the boys don't meet there, but the muse took the prompt and went somewhere else. This also covers the prompt of 'shopping' for my fic-tac-toe at ; master list is [here](http://alafaye.insanejournal.com/323155.html).

Someone had a bag full of books and it was hitting him straight in his calves. The person to his right hadn't showered in three days or so he smelled. The person to his left was getting a bit too friendly every time they were swayed together with the train's movements. The woman in front of him on the seat kept sighing and giving him pointed looks when he was jostled forward, interrupting her knitting (and who knitted on the train, seriously?). Somewhere there was a baby crying and somewhere else, a kid was having the tantrum to end all tantrums.

His phone went off.

He rolled his eyes up, hopping that it wasn't Morgana because she would just keep calling until he picked up. Not that he could--there was no way he was going to try to get his phone out of his pocket. Not like this.

Two more stops. He could do this.

The phone stopped ringing, but only for a moment. Fuck.

"Are you going to get that?" the girl on his left asked. "It might be important if they keep calling." She smirked and looked him up and down. "I could get it for you, if you'd like."

Arthur sighed and held up his free hand, wiggling his ring finger. "Taken."

She shrugged. "She doesn't have to find out."

Arthur closed his eyes. "To a man."

"Never wanted to take a walk on the other side?"

One stop to go. Just one more.

The woman knitting sighed again. "You, sir, can stop swinging forward, and you, missy, can stop hitting a taken man. Please."

The girl huffed and Arthur swallowed. "Sorry."

The knitting woman glared at him. 

Moments later, he was squeezing out of the cramped space and up the stairs. He took a deep breath of fresh air as his phone started ringing again. "Fucking, what? Morgana?"

She snorted into the phone. "Is that the kind of greeting I'm expected to get from now on? You ignore me only to swear when you do pick up? I can only imagine what poor Merlin has to put up with." 

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose as he began walking toward Merlin's preferred tea shop. "Hi, Morgana. How are you? Not stuck in traffic I hope? I'm well, thank you for asking."

"There's no need for sarcasm," she said tartly. "I only wanted to check in with you about the plans for tomorrow. Are we meeting you and Merlin at your flat or are we meeting at ours?"

"I don't know," Arthur bit out. "Merlin knows these things. Ask him."

"Really, I am beginning to wonder about you two," she mused. "Every time I ask you something, you tell me to ask him. Is he your husband or your P.A.? And where are you anyway? I can barely hear you over the background noise. Out shopping for a last minute gift?" 

"Something like that," Arthur answered.

She was silent for so long that Arthur wondered if the call had dropped. When he checked, he asked, "Morgana?"

"Don't tell me you are right now shopping for the first gift you're giving Merlin as a married couple?" she asked in return.

Arthur swallowed hard and stopped in front of the tea shop. It was busy inside, but it looked like there might be still a few tins of Merlin's tea. "I might be. Look, Morgana, kind of busy right now so--"

"Arthur Pendragon, you are the worst sort of husband and I hope Merlin realizes that sooner rather than later!"

"What did I do?"

She hung up. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and stormed into the store.

~~~

When Arthur got home, he was further banged up from another crowded tube and covered in cat fur--the neighbor across the hall had had to bring her cat to the vet and it had gotten loose inside the elevator.

Merlin smirked at him from the sofa. "You look like hell. Anything to do with why Morgana called me in a huff?"

Arthur's head fell back with a thud against the door. "A little, yes."

"Arthur?"

Arthur sighed and held out the little paper bag. "Your present. Morgana will ask you sometime soon if I found you something and you can assure her I did."

Merlin laughed and crossed the room to take the bag. He put it under the tree where a few other gifts had been moved to--because Arthur had gotten Merlin a few things, damn it, but none of them were really personal. None of them said _I love you and thank you for this year_. Because Arthur did agree with Morgana, the first Christmas after marriage was important. The holiday was a special day, especially for family, and your new partner was that. 

Arthur blinked when Merlin kissed him. "What was that for?"

"Because I know you," Merlin answered smugly. "You didn't forget to buy me a gift. You've probably been thinking about it, but work's been so busy that you haven't had the time and then suddenly it's Christmas Eve and you don't know what to do, but you go out, braving the crowds, to get me something special."

Arthur smiled softly and looped his fingers in Merlin's belt loop so he could pull him even closer. "You knew that, did you?"

"Being your coworker for ten years and then dating you for five of those years and now married for another year?" Merlin smirked. "I think I know you pretty well, yeah." He kissed Arthur again. "Ignore Morgana. I trusted you knew what you were doing."

Arthur rested his forehead against Merlin's. "I love you."

"Love you, too, you clot pole. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas."


End file.
